Welcome to issue #5 of
Words Matter. Please feel free to share with a friend!

Here's the good stuff.

Why is English so huge?

In 1066 A.D. the French army stormed across the English channel and conquered England. They imposed their Latin-based language called Norman French on the English. People continued to speak the old English as well, and soon the two languages merged. This is why there are at least two words for almost everything in English. In fact, English contains over a million words!

play = recreation

chew = masticate

puke = regurgitate!

This also explains "foul" language. All those four letter words are the short, gutteral Anglo-Saxon words from old English. If the Battle of Hastings had turned out the other way, we would say "puke" in polite conversation, and "regurgitate" would be considered vulgar. Bad language is literally the language of the losers!

Morpheme of the week:The root VERS

Enjoy this brief video from WordBuild Elements Level 1.

The root VERS

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